Environmental Advocates Urge for Ecofriendly Packaging and Labeling

An environmental group has proposed bottle companies employ ecofriendly packaging and labeling instead of full-wrap shrink sleeve labels due to their harmful chemicals. The Association of Postconsumer Plastic Recyclers (APR) recently announced the association has formed a specific group to develop consumer awareness about the dangers of full-wrap shrink sleeve labels.

John Standish, technical director at APR, sees the harmful effects of plastic labels as a serious issue that companies need to address. They can hamper the recycling sorting process by infecting the rest of the materials with chemicals so they cannot be used.

"Many of the labels are not properly removed in the washing process, causing the label to sink with the container in the normal sink/float process," Standish said. "This essentially contaminates the entire stream of material, and makes it unusable for a second life application."